The Farm Shop & Deli Retailer Awards, in association with The Grocer and championed by Fieldfare, are renowned for supporting and celebrating specialist retailers.
This would not be possible without the support of the fantastic judges who volunteer their time to evaluate and score the entries.
And this year is no different, for two weeks in October the esteemed panel of judges will be reviewing the entries online across 11 categories and seven regions. They will then come together in November to deliberate the entries in person before whittling down the finalist shortlist, being announced in early March.
Free to enter, specialist retailers still have time to enter their business and share their achievements of the past year within the independent sector. The deadline closes on Friday 29th September, and they can enter one of the following categories; baker, butcher, cheesemonger, delicatessen, farm shop large, farm shop small, fishmonger, food hall, greengrocer, online business and village store/local shop.
From the category finalists, judges will also select the seven ‘Best in Region’ winners across Anglia, Midlands, North England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South England, Wales plus the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ and overall ‘Retailer of the Year.’
Meet our judges
Nigel Barden, Chair of Judges, and Elaine Lemm, Co-chair of Judges, will be joined by an esteemed panel of experts from across the industry, and will evaluate what initiatives retailers have implemented over the last 12 months to develop and grow their store / business. These include Debbie Edge (Edge & Sons), Iain Hemming (Thyme & Tides), Ian Nottage (Sysco Speciality Group) and Simon Hurley (P2P Food Solutions) – to name just a few.
Plus, joining the panel in 2024 are:
Matt Whelan, Managing Director, Fieldfare: Matt is extremely proud of the seven Product Awards that Fieldfare bagged at last year’s Farm Shop and Deli Show and he is passionate about the role unique propositions, such as Fieldfare’s loose premium frozen foods, have to play within independent stores. Fieldfare are also proud to be championing the Awards this year.
James Cunningham, Owner, Cunningham's Butchers & Food Hall: James and the team behind Cunningham's won both the Best Retailer Northern Ireland (Large) and overall Retailer of the Year 2023 and we’re excited to welcome him to our esteemed judging panel.
Tom Richardson, Retail Manager, Paxton & Whitfield: Tom learnt how to taste cheese correctly and honed his skills as a cheese specialist. He's now back in the dairy world as the retail manager of Paxton and Whitfield's flagship shop in the iconic Jermyn Street in Piccadilly, London.
Visit the website to find out more and enter: https://www.farmshopanddelishow.co.uk/awards.